Another brutal summer is shattering temperature recordsbroiling more than a third of Americans under extended heat advisory. Like smoke out wildfires begin to choke air and dead count tap up, affected states say they need more help from the federal government.
During most climate-driven emergencies, such as hurricanes or floods, local governments can rely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund relief efforts. But heat waves and wildfire smoke aren’t specifically listed as “major disasters” under the law that empowers FEMA to administer emergency relief and don’t fit neatly within the disaster declaration process — leaving affected communities without a clear path to funds. Recently, in response, states and advocacy groups have pressured FEMA to treat heat waves and smoke from wildfires as the major disasters they are.
Part of the problem comes down to semantics, and how climate-influenced events are addressed — or, more precisely, not addressed — in a 1988 law called the Stafford Act, which authorizes FEMA to administer a wide range of aid to local and state governments following a major presidential disaster declaration. Despite the list of 16 specific disasters that qualify for this declaration and the funding it unlocks, heat waves or wildfire smoke are not mentioned in the text of the law.
FEMA says that dangerous heat and smoke from wildfires can still qualify for major disaster declarations under what the Stafford Act broadly refers to as “any natural disaster.” But only three major disaster declaration requests for heat were ever made – all of which were rejected. Still, the agency insists heat waves and wildfire smoke are given the same level of consideration as any other disaster.
“We take each severe weather event on a case-by-case basis to understand what the impact is on the community and what they may need from the federal government,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in an interview with Grist said. But, she added, states must demonstrate that they cannot bear the costs on their own before FEMA will step in.
Clearing that bar has not been easy, as states may struggle to use the funds they already have. Last summer, for example, the governor of Arizona declared a state of emergency after a statewide extreme heat event, releasing $200,000 through the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to help reimburse local governments for their expenses. In the end, less than 1 percent of that money was spentdue to difficulties in documenting costs related to heat, complicated rules and poor timing.
“Our disaster framework is really geared toward protecting property and picking up damage to property,” said Juanita Constible, a senior climate and health advocate at the National Resources Defense Council. She said that because of the diffuse way heat harms human health, it’s hard to put a price tag on the toll on a community, and the death rate isn’t always clear until the worst of the summer is over. Unlike the calculable wreckage of hurricanes or floods, proving financial losses from heat with health data is “much more challenging,” she said.
“There’s no quick way to pick up the damage and demonstrate, ‘It’s been way too hard for us, we need your help stat,'” Constible said. She added that FEMA requires clear and specific data documenting expenses incurred during a heat wave or smoke event, which is difficult for states to provide using existing tools meant to track impacts from heat or smoke.
Another roadblock to accessing federal aid in the wake of a heat wave or wildfire smoke is determining exactly when an event begins and ends. While some disasters occur in a single powerful event, such as an earthquake or a tornado, high temperatures and smoky air can persist for weeks. Because of this, Constable said, heat doesn’t fit “nicely” within a typical disaster declaration process.
As climate change fuels more intense, prolonged heat waves that kill more people than any other type of weather event, cities like Phoenix could end up losing out billions of dollars per year of infrastructure damage and the loss of life and workforce productivity. last year, more than 600 people have died from heat in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, and by mid-July this year, dozens more residents suffered the same fate.
Pressure on FEMA to make a change to how it approves disaster relief is mounting. Last month, a multi-state coalition of environmental, labor and health organizations issued a petition to the agency, calling for amended rules that expressly recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters and pave the way for funding requests to be approved. It also outlined how funding from a major disaster declaration could be used to mitigate the damaging effects of heat and wildfire smoke.
That initiative was followed last week by a July 16 letter from attorneys general in 13 states and Washington, DC, in support of the petition. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who signed the letter, told Grist in a statement: “We need the federal government to keep pace with the realities Oregonians face, and we need that FEMA has the jurisdiction to help when we ask for help.”
Earlier this month, lawmakers Dina Titus of Arizona and Greg Stanton of Nevada — U.S. representatives from two of the hottest and hardest-hit states — introduced an account which expands how FEMA can respond to these events.
“This is truly a crisis and yet we don’t see leadership from any agency or local government or state that is dealing with it comprehensively,” said Jean Su, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which spearheaded the June Petition.
In addition to emergency response measures such as cooling tents and evacuation services, Su said the unlocking of major disaster funding would allow states to mitigate the damage from heat and smoke by investing in a host of long-term solutions, including air conditioners in homes and air filtration systems in schools. The coalition said with the support of a major disaster declaration, these solutions have the potential to save billions of dollars and many lives.
On the other hand, Criswell said that even without major disaster declarations, FEMA provides funding for mitigation efforts and that states are knowledgeable about these programs. In 2020, for example, the agency launched the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which helps states upgrade infrastructure to withstand disasters, including heat. “A lot of what they’re saying is really things we’re already doing,” she told Grist, referring to the petition.
But as climate change causes more disasters, FEMA may not have the disaster funding to spare. A report in May found that if this year’s Atlantic hurricanes are as intense as predicted – and with this month’s history-making hurricane Berylthis appears to be the case – the agency may be $6.8 billion over budget by September.
